Glued to Your Phone at the Dinner Table? Marshawn Lynch Wants to Have Some Words

The NFL star and GS&P want meals to be phone-free zones

Phones at the table? Better be ready for Marshawn Lynch to snag your food.

Will we ever collectively return to a time when dinners around the table included little more than food, your friends or loved ones, and polite conversation? Let’s be real—probably not.

In this blink-and-you’ll-miss-everything society, the news cycle is relentless, an important update from your friends is always moments away and “staying connected” has morphed into a full-time job. Still, choosing to commit to the occasional screen-free meal isn’t too much to ask, especially in the name of true quality time.

With that in mind, Common Sense Media has collaborated with Goodby Silverstein & Partners to revamp its Device-Free Dinner campaign for a second year. Last year’s campaign starred Will Ferrell in a darkly comedic story of a family who “lost” their patriarch to his phone. For this series of ads they tap NFL superstar Marshawn Lynch to help drive home the mission.

But Lynch isn’t here to wax poetic about a simpler time lost or regurgitate cliches about the importance of family. While a group of friends at a restaurant appear entirely engrossed in their phones in an ad titled “Friends Slo Mo,” the Oakland Raiders running back helps himself to their neglected food, since they’re otherwise busy. Exactly how tuned out must one be to not notice Beast Mode stealing your chicken?#DeviceFreeDinner – Friends SloMo

Another ad, “Hot Sauce,” shows Lynch coaching a little boy on how to troll his parents, who appear to be too enraptured by their devices to engage with their son. We have to side with Lynch here, as well; they deserve a little hot sauce in their soda for being so inconsiderate.#DeviceFreeDinner – Hot Sauce

The generally unscripted nature of these ads is where the magic truly lies, as Lynch’s hijinks and ad-libbing are an absolute riot to watch. A subject is spared the usual preachy tone thanks to his natural humor.

“Football fans and humans love Marshawn. He is a force of nature. In these commercials, we attempt to simply get out of the man’s way,” said Jeff Goodby, Co-Chairman and Partner at GS & P. “It results in great comedy, but also a message that truly connects with a wider audience.”

Lynch wasn’t the only NFL star to have a little fun. In “Fundamentals,” pro legends and San Francisco 49ers alumni Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Harris Barton and Ronnie Lott analyze a dinner table fumble caused by a lack of attentiveness.#DeviceFreeDinner – Fundamentals

The campaign will air throughout the NFL season on networks like CBS and Fox. They’ll also be available to view on the 49ers and Oakland Raiders’ websites.